Articles by Paul Rawlins

Past Articles

In 19th-century America, the eyes of the country were looking west. The Louisiana Purchase, annexation of Texas, Mexican-American War, resolving of the Oregon boundary dispute, California gold rush, Homestead Act, and transcontinental railroad all contributed to opening more of the American continent to white settlement. This westward expansion also spelled the end of the life… Read more

I was only two when my grandfather died, so I never knew him. But I know his grave. I’ve visited it probably every year since he died. I know I’ve been there practically every year I can remember, even the year my brothers had to stay home with chicken pox. Memorial Day in Lewiston is… Read more

“I am as independent as a hog on the ice. If it is God’s will for me to fall in the field of battle, it is my will to go and never return home.” That quote comes from a letter Private Lyons Wakeman of the 153rd New York Infantry wrote to family back home in… Read more

Last week brought records from eight counties and the Portuguese Union of California to the site in California, Death and Burial Records from Select Counties, 1873–1987. Residents of Canada’s Atlantic Coast inhabit the Newfoundland, Canada, Index of Birth, Marriage & Death Notices from Newspapers, 1810–1890, and Canada, Seafarers of the Atlantic Provinces, 1860–1899,… Read more

Was there a doctor—or midwife—in the family? The New Zealand, Registers of Medical Practitioners and Nurses, 1873, 1882–1933, database lists all sorts of state-approved medical practitioners. Meanwhile, back in England, the West Yorkshire, England, Tax Valuation, 1910, itemized (as it were) more than half a million residents for tax purposes. Rhode Island, Vital Extracts, 1636–1899,… Read more

Last week featured some welcome additions to existing databases. Ancestry World Archives Project volunteers provided indexes for two collections that had been image only up until now: Marion County, Oregon, Marriage Records, 1849-1900, and Marion County, Oregon, Census, 1895. We also added another 99,094 records to Sweden, Church Records, 1500-1941, which isn’t an insignificant number. It… Read more

We did launch a few collections over the past week that weren’t all about New York… The U.S., Dutch Church Records from Selected States, 1660–1926, database includes some records from Pennsylvania and New Jersey…as well as New York. New Mexico and Texas, Select United Methodist Church Records, 1870–1970, are a long way from… Read more

Did you hear the news out of New York? We have teamed up with the New York City Department of Records/Municipal Archives to bring indexes to more than 10 million New York City birth, marriage, and death records for the years 1866–1948. You can search the indexes free from a new landing page at www.Ancestry.com/NewYork,… Read more

Founded in 1824, the Historical Society of Pennsylvania is one of the oldest historical societies in the U.S. It’s home to an extensive collection of genealogical scrapbooks, research folders, and other related materials, and the new Pennsylvania, Card Indexes to Genealogical Scrapbooks and Research Folders database is your guide to that collection. Germany,… Read more

Did you ever dream of visiting New York ? If you can’t make it there in person, maybe these seven New York collections will help you get a feel for the city: New York, Sales of Loyalist Land, 1762-1830 New York, Alien Depositions of Intent to Become U.S. Citizens, 1825-1871 New York, Naturalization… Read more

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